RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Ultrastructure of 40-Million-Year-Old Insect Tissue
JF Science
JO Science
FD American Association for the Advancement of Science
SP 1241
OP 1242
DO 10.1126/science.215.4537.1241
VO 215
IS 4537
A1 POINAR, GEORGE O.
A1 HESS, ROBERTA
YR 1982
UL http://science.sciencemag.org/content/215/4537/1241.abstract
AB Examination of the ultrastructure of preserved tissue in the abdomen of a fossil fly (Mycetophilidae: Diptera) entombed in Baltic amber revealed recognizable cell organelles. Structures that corresponded to muscle fibers, nuclei, ribosomes, lipid droplets, endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondria were identified with the transmission electron microscope. Preservation was attributed to inert dehydration as well as the presence of compounds in the original sap which functioned as natural fixatives. This evidence of cell organelles in fossilized soft tissues represent an extreme form of mummification since Baltic amber is considered to have formed about 40 million years ago.